59
Reg Spiers was a quite competent javelin thrower who didn’t quite make the cut for the Olympics.
Social media photo.
I daresay most all of us have a weakness for gun stuff. Little makes a good day a great day faster than glancing out the front window to spot the Brown Truck of Happiness pulling up the drive with some gun-related widget in tow.
There is actually a not-zero possibility that the BATF will soon amend its rules to allow law-abiding citizens to order firearms remotely, pass the requisite background checks, and then have guns delivered straight to their front door. We do live in amazing times.
While technology has facilitated supply chains that operate with unprecedented efficiency, that convenience comes at a price. Shipping, particularly the expedited sort, can cost a fortune. I once needed an important legal document spirited across the country overnight and was quoted $72 for the service. Ouch.
The box Reg Spiers built to ship himself literally halfway around the world was only 5x3x2.6 feet.
Social media photo.
The Lunatic
Back in 1964, an indigent Australian athlete named Reg Spiers yearned to return home from London. Spiers was a javelin thrower who had recently failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. After a pickpocket stole his wallet, he found himself stranded. Ever resourceful, the poor, unfortunate guy set out to engineer a solution. A desire to return home in time for his daughter’s pending birthday supercharged the enterprise.
Spiers could not afford a traditional passenger ticket on an airplane or boat, but shipping costs were not nearly as egregious back then as they might be today. With the assistance of a fellow Olympic hopeful, Spiers constructed a 5x3x2.5-foot wooden crate just big enough to accommodate his muscular form. There was room inside to sit with his legs straight or rest on his back with his knees bent above him.
Spiers knew this would be a weird trip. As a result, he equipped his personalized shipping container with internal security straps so he wouldn’t jostle about unduly during takeoff and landing.
He also thoughtfully included several cans of food, a pillow and blanket, and a battery-powered flashlight. In addition, he packed two large plastic bottles. One of these was full of water. The other was to serve as a makeshift toilet. He marked the outside of the box “Medical Supplies” in hopes that the baggage handlers would be careful with him.
What Spiers was planning was both illegal and dangerous. If he pulled it off, he would bypass Australian customs and violate Lord-only-knows how many shipping company regulations. As a result, he labeled himself “To Be Collected” and added the made-up address of a fictitious shoe company. Why a shoe company would be receiving a crate of medical supplies was anybody’s guess.
The poor guy had no money. He shipped himself air freight cash-on-delivery. His hope was that his family might collect him once he arrived in Perth and pay the shipping costs at that time.
After a sordid stint as a drug trafficker, Reg Spiers eventually got his life in order.
Social media photo.
One Seriously Wild Ride
The trip took three long days and became a serious gut check for the frugal spear chucker. His parcel was set aside and delayed in Paris. During a layover in Bombay, India, baggage handlers left his crate upside down in the direct sunshine on the hot tarmac for hours. Regardless of the deprivations, Spiers remained still and silent throughout. Any suspicion on the part of the shipping company folks would have ended his trip immediately.
Once he was down safe in Australia, baggage handlers secured his box in a cargo shed. Now convinced he was alone, Spiers chopped his way out of his wooden crate and changed into a fresh suit of clothes he had brought along for that purpose. Having stretched his sore muscles, Spiers then just walked out of the airport like he owned the place.
The Aftermath
Reg Spiers never intended to tell anyone what he had done. However, several days later, his buddy in London became worried after not having heard from him and alerted the media. Spiers’ story circled the globe and brought the man a certain curious notoriety. The human interest angle of a failed Olympian who shipped himself home via COD air freight so as to make his daughter’s birthday celebration was irresistible clickbait even in the days before clicks were a thing.
Reg Spiers broke the law, but not a whole lot. In short order, all was forgiven. However, the rambunctious athlete did subsequently go on to a lucrative career in drug trafficking. He was even caught and sentenced to death in Sri Lanka, only to be extradited back to Australia later. The Internet says he eventually got his life in order and stopped such ridiculous stuff.
In case you might be considering it, modern baggage screening technology makes such a stunt virtually impossible today. Should you find yourself in desperate need of transportation around the globe might I suggest you take a job to earn the money or throw yourself on the mercy of GoFundMe. Mailing one’s person around the globe is, tragically, not terribly practical anymore.
A Connecticut homeowner called state authorities after shooting a black bear in his backyard.
Now he is facing a criminal charge.
Michael Gero, 39, told investigators the bear had broken into an enclosure and killed several chickens. He reportedly saw the bear eating one before he fired.
Gero also believes the same bear killed his goats in August, according to WFSB.
He Reported the Shooting
The incident happened Friday at Gero’s property in Granby.
Gero contacted the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection after killing the animal. Environmental Conservation Police investigated and cited him for illegally taking a black bear.
The charge may carry up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine for a first offense under Connecticut law.
Gero is expected to appear in Torrington Superior Court in early October.
This was not his first close encounter with a bear.
WFSB interviewed Gero in 2024 after another bear attacked one of his goats. Gero said he struck that animal with a branch and chased it into the woods.
Connecticut Law Draws a Fine Line
Connecticut law allows someone to kill a bear when that person reasonably believes it threatens serious bodily harm to a human.
Deadly force is also allowed when a bear attacks a legally controlled pet or enters an occupied building.
However, chickens and goats kept as livestock do not necessarily qualify as protected pets under that provision.
State law instead directs livestock owners toward Connecticut’s agricultural damage permit process. That process requires property owners to try nonlethal measures first.
They must then consult a DEEP wildlife biologist. The agency must approve a permit before the owner can legally kill a damaging bear.
That distinction sits at the center of the controversy.
The bear was reportedly inside Gero’s enclosure and actively feeding on one of his chickens. Yet the law appears to treat that situation differently from an attack on a household pet.
Residents Question the Charge
The case drew thousands of comments after WFSB shared it online. Many commenters argued that Gero should have been allowed to protect his animals on his property.
Granby Town Manager Mike Walsh also expressed sympathy for Gero. He suggested lawmakers should review the statute and that DEEP should provide communities with better guidance.
DEEP said the bear was not tagged and that the agency knew of no other reported attacks connected to it.
The facts will now move into court. The larger question may eventually land with state lawmakers: How long must a property owner wait while a bear kills his livestock?
Categories
MAJOR Changes With Ammo In America!
Clickbait!!!
A retired two-star Air Force general walks out of his Albuquerque home without his phone or glasses. He leaves behind plans for an upcoming ski trip. Then he disappears for more than seven months.
Cue the flashlights, desert sky and low X-Files synth.
Unfortunately, this is not television. William “Neil” McCasland remains the subject of an active missing-person investigation, and the known facts leave far more questions than answers.
Table of contents
A One-Hour Window
McCasland, 68, disappeared from his home near Quail Run Court in northeast Albuquerque on February 27.
Investigators say a repairman interacted with him around 10 a.m. McCasland’s wife left for an appointment at approximately 11:10 a.m. When she returned at 12:04 p.m., he was gone.
That leaves a remarkably small window.
His phone, prescription glasses and wearable devices remained inside the house. Investigators later said his wallet, red backpack, .38-caliber revolver and leather holster remained unaccounted for.
Newly released body-camera footage obtained by KRQE adds another layer.
McCasland’s wife told deputies he had taken a prescribed medication the previous night. That morning, he reportedly described feeling foggy, almost like the aftermath of a bad hangover.
She also showed deputies food, drinks and supplies he had assembled for an upcoming backcountry ski trip with 17 friends. In other words, his home looked like the home of someone planning to return.
So why leave?
Why switch off the phone? Why leave the glasses? And, why walk away during a one-hour window? And what, if anything, should investigators make of the missing revolver?
An Experienced Outdoorsman Leaves No Trail
McCasland was not someone unfamiliar with the New Mexico backcountry. Friends and relatives described him as active, physically capable and comfortable outdoors.
That should have helped searchers. Instead, it made the mystery stranger.
Authorities canvassed more than 700 homes. Search teams used dogs, drones, helicopters and infrared equipment across the foothills and surrounding canyons. The FBI also assisted with interviews, surveillance review and analysis.
The terrain did not cooperate. Warm rocks complicated infrared searches, while cliffs, ravines and hidden pockets created countless places that could conceal an injured person.
Searchers found a gray Air Force sweatshirt about 1.25 miles east of McCasland’s home. Testing reportedly found no blood, and his family could not confirm that it belonged to him. Investigators searched the surrounding area anyway.
No confirmed sighting followed. No obvious trail appeared. Authorities said they had found no evidence pointing to foul play, although they had not ruled anything out.
As of October 1, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office still lists McCasland as missing.
Then There Is the UAP Connection
This is where the spooky music gets louder.
This is where the spooky music gets louder.
McCasland was no ordinary retiree. He earned a doctorate in astronautical engineering from MIT and held senior positions involving space systems, classified programs and advanced military research.
From 2011 until his 2013 retirement, he commanded the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He oversaw thousands of employees and billions of dollars in research and development. Before that, he served as the Pentagon’s director of special programs and held leadership roles involving space acquisition and the National Reconnaissance Office.
Wright-Patterson also occupies prime real estate in American UFO lore. For decades, believers have claimed the government moved material recovered near Roswell to the Ohio installation.
That history alone would attract speculation. McCasland’s connection to Tom DeLonge poured rocket fuel on it.
In a 2016 email to Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, DeLonge claimed he had worked with McCasland for four months. DeLonge also claimed McCasland helped assemble an advisory team for his UFO-related project.
That email proves DeLonge made the claims. It does not prove McCasland possessed alien hardware, extraterrestrial secrets or a reserved parking spot aboard the mothership.
McCasland’s wife later said he briefly served as an unpaid consultant for DeLonge’s organization. According to her, he offered military and technical guidance to make DeLonge’s fiction and media projects more realistic.
She also said her husband had no special knowledge about UFO bodies or Roswell debris. He had been retired for nearly 13 years, she noted, making his old classified knowledge increasingly dated.
She even joked that aliens might be the best remaining explanation, while noting that nobody reported a mothership over the Sandia Mountains.
That is probably the healthiest way to handle the UFO angle: acknowledge it, smile at it and demand evidence before believing it.
What Actually Happened?
- Did McCasland suffer an unexpected reaction to medication and become disoriented?
- Did something happen in the rugged terrain beyond his neighborhood?
- Did he deliberately leave and take steps to avoid being tracked?
- Does the missing revolver point toward a personal crisis, or is it simply another item investigators cannot locate?
- Did someone pick him up beyond the view of nearby cameras?
- Or does another person know what happened during that narrow window?
Then comes the question guaranteed to divide readers: Does McCasland’s history with classified aerospace programs and the UAP community deserve serious consideration? Or does it merely make a heartbreaking missing-person case irresistible to the internet?
Seven months later, the public still has no satisfying answer. An accomplished general, scientist and outdoorsman apparently walked away from a life filled with plans. Despite aircraft, dogs, surveillance footage, federal assistance and hundreds of tips, he seemingly left no confirmed trail.
That is strange enough without adding aliens.
Still, this case practically invites questions. What detail stands out to you? The phone and glasses? The medication? The prepared ski supplies? The missing gun? His classified background? Or the complete absence of a confirmed sighting?
What say you?
Anyone with information can contact the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Missing Persons Unit at 505-468-7070. Anonymous tips may be submitted by texting BCSO and the information to 847411.
Categories